Big Snapshot: Powerful night tornadoes strike the Midwest

Steve McDonald inspects the wreckage that was once the home of his mother-in-law, Mary Osman, who was killed after a tornado wreaked havoc on Feb. 29 in the small city of Harrisburg, Ill.

At least a dozen people were killed and more than 100 were injured by a string of overnight tornadoes that started in Kansas and continued on through Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. At least six were killed in a Harrisburg housing subdivision after powerful winds picked up a house and dropped it on several other houses.

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Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Picking up the pieces

Josh Summers and his wife, Lindsey, search through the sea of debris in hopes of salvaging some of their possessions after a tornado ripped through their neighborhood in the early morning hours of Feb. 29 in Harrisburg, Ill.

Tornadoes that strike during the night are deadly because people are usually sleeping and are not aware of warnings and alarms. In Harrisburg, the tornado touched down at about 4:30 a.m., when many people were still fast asleep.